I like to meet with the person in charge of the project, walk down the work, take measurements and do sketches in the field - then return to the shop to work up more detailed drawings. On custom projects, I usually go back and forth several times with the decision maker to ensure I understand their vision before I send a bid and a contract.

After that, I order material and work your project into my schedule, communicating along the way as I have questions or updates.

I've also been known to send a bid based on texted pictures and do everything electronically before delivering the work.

It just depends on the scale of the project and the relationship I’ve built with my customer.